Indiana woman provides new details about confronting pastor who sexually abused her as a teen

A woman who accused her pastor of sexually abusing her for years provided new details about her decision to come forward.

Bobi Gephart and her husband Nate confronted pastor John Lowe last week during services at New Life Christian Church after the minister admitted to an adulterous affair decades ago, but she made clear that she was only 16 years old at that time, reported Fox News.

"I had family members texting me … saying, ‘You need to get to the church, you should be there, they need to hear your story,’" Gephart said. "I was not ready for church. I just threw my sandals on and told my niece that was here to take me."

Gephart, now 43, and her husband told other congregants about the abuse as Lowe stood nearby.

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"What I wanted was freedom and for my husband to know my heart, and for people not to be lied to anymore," she said. "We took it upon ourselves and went right to the stage without anybody’s permission and took the mic."

Lowe resigned as pastor the following day, and the church issued a statement that the community was "hurting and broken" for Gephart, whose family belonged to the church for years.

"They were like a family to us, and that is what was the hardest part," Gephart said. "Hard for people to realize that we were there all the time and heavily involved in our church, and this whole time, stuffing those secrets inside me."

Gephart said she never considered herself "an actual victim" until speaking out.

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"Then realizing and opening up and just, when you step on the outside looking in, you realize what was really happening and just the prison of lies and deceit and the cover-ups," she said.

Gephart said the abuse ended when she started dating Nate, who was also a church member.

"All I ever wanted was for him to know me, because I lied to him," she said. "He thought I was a virgin when we got married, and so this whole time he has no clue that even the man he's looking up to had done these horrendous things to me."